Where is your community? That’s where you need to be.

I talk to a lot of folks.  They ask me, “there are all these social media tools. I’m not sure where my company and I need to be.”

First, let me say… take a breath.

Now, my first question is – where is your community?  What tools do your community use?  Is your community talking about your on Twitter?  Are they talking about you on Get Satisfaction?  Are they blogging about you?

Does your community even use social media tools?  If they don’t, do they gather somewhere specifically?

You need to be where your community is.  If your community uses social media tools, use them.  If your community all gathers at a conference, be there.  If they all spend time at a coffee shop, go there and drink coffee with them.

I don’t think it’s the kind of thing you need to sit down and create a comprehensive plan about.  If you make product X and someone is twittering about how they’re having a problem with product X, you say “hey, how can i help?”